What's Hot: Very slim and book-like, form fitting, has built-in stand.

What's Not: The stand doesn't provide super wide angles.

Reviewed by Tong Zhang

The Macally Slim Folio Stand Case for the iPad mini is a great looking case that's very protective of the tablet as well as extremely form fitting. The case provides excellent protection for the entire tablet while keeping a very slim profile. The case also comes in three color options, black, pink and blue.

Design

The Macally Slim Folio Stand Case for the iPad mini is made with a faux leather material in two textures and two tone colors. The black case has a dark grey, almost brushed metallic surface with black leather-like spine. The pink case and the blue case have more leather-like surface covers with lighter color and leather-like spines in darker shade of the cover's color. This design makes the case look like a slim notebook, which is really cool. The portfolio case is a bit larger than the actual size of the iPad mini and has plastic holders to keep the tablet in place. This design greatly increases the protection from shock damage should you drop the tablet while in the case. The rigid covers also can easily protect the tablet from scratches, nicks and bumps.

The interior of the Macally Slim Folio Stand Case is super soft micro-suede lining that feels nice and won't scratch the surface of the tablet. The front cover has a magnetic closure, though it's only for keeping the front cover shut securely not for auto sleep/wake the screen.

Features

The Macally Slim Folio Stand Case for the iPad mini is a very functional case. The plastic holders that keep the tablet in place have convenient locations that leave out all the buttons and ports on the iPad mini. Though the plastic holder for the bottom of the iPad mini covers part of the speaker grill, the holder has cutouts to let the sound through. Since the case is a bit larger then the iPad mini, you do need to slide your finger deep to use the buttons when the case is closed. But it's not hard to operate the buttons and this will also prevent accidental button presses. Both the audio out jack and the Lightning port are exposed, and you should have not trouble using cables with these ports. But if you're going to use speaker systems or alarms in the future when there have the Lightning port support, you'll likely need to take the tablet out of the case to use them.

The plastic holders on the left side of the iPad mini are smaller so that you can take them off the tablet and stand it on the front cover. The built-in stand keeps the tablet up in landscape mode and uses the tablet's own weight to keep it stable. The viewing angles are good for watching movies and FaceTime, but it doesn't extend too flat for typing on the screen.

Conclusion

The Macally Slim Folio Stand Case for the iPad mini is a very attractive and protective case. It protects the entire tablet from both daily wear and tear as well as shock damage. The design of the case can also conceal the iPad mini as it looks like a high end paper notebook on the outside. We like all three color combos and the two tone design. The Macally Slim Folio Stand Case is ultra slim and weighs only 5.4 ounces. You have access to all ports and buttons, and a built-in stand. If you're looking for a protective case that's also slim and good looking, the Macally Slim Folio Stand Case is a great choice.